‘Coda #5:’ Advance Comic Book Review

Issue five of Coda is Simon Spurrier at his finest. Over the course of the first four issues, Spurrier has set up and filled in this world little by little with eccentricities and oddities, all making sense within the rules of the world he’s created. The world is post-fantasy, as if the magic in Lord of the Rings was stripped away and Terry Gilliam got hold of what remained and turned it into a George Miller-esque Road Warrior fight for what little magic remains. It’s a freaking romp.

Hum is the anti-hero of the book. He may have been a good man at one point in time, traveling the world as a Bard, but now he’s an unethical, bordering on amoral, thief. Believing that the ends justify the means, even when the end might be just as selfish as the means. He doesn’t see himself as a good person (but somehow others do). He’s one of the most intriguing characters to come along in a while, and the fact that his spirit animal is a unicorn from Hell only makes this book that much more amazing.

I’m going to stop for a moment and say that Matías Bergara is doing a freaking amazing job as the artist on this book. It’s like hard candy for my eyes; my retinas suck on every image wanting to bite down. That’s a weird comparison, but it’s completely appropriate for this book. What’s even weirder is that this candy comes with all of your daily vitamins and nutrients.

Spurrier is dealing with some universal themes: Can we change someone who may not want to be changed? A talking head poses the question to Hum in a way that made me go, “Ouch.” Yes, a talking head.

All of the elements of this story are being used in the most outrageous, but completely plausible, of ways. From panel to panel, I have no idea where this book is going. It’s chaotic, it’s charming, and it’s an absolute blast to read.